Vehicle-wheel.



P. TOMPKINS.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1909.

Patentd June 21, 1910.

N VEN TOR 75m/a momen,

fz s Karl/50.2%

FRANKLIN TOMPKINS, OF vNEW` DORP, NEW YORK.

- VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Speication of Lt'ersletent. Patented Julie 21, 1910.

Application jlcd' January 16. 1909. Serial No.i 472,607.

To all whom it may con-cern.'

le it known thatl, FimNuniN,'loiirkiNs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and. residing at New Dorp, Staten lslamhint-he county of lliehniond and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehiele-'hcels, ot' which the fol-` lowing is a slwciticat-ion, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use. the same.

'lhis invention relates to the wheels of automobiles and other vehicles; fand theobject thereof is 'to provide an improved cushioned wheel of this class withoutthc use ot pneumatic tires; a further object being to provide a vehicle wheel having inner and outer hubs between which are placed spiral springs which bear the 1o:ul`placcd on the wheel and take up the greater amount of the, jolt` jar or -shock oceasioned'in th'e'iisc of the,

vehicle mid prevent the said jolt, jar or shock Jfrom being transmitted to thefrainework of the vehicle; and with these `and other objects in view the invention" consists in a wheel of the class specified constructed :is hereinafter described and claimed. ,i

l`he invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which thc accompanyiugI drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement. are desigvnoted by suitable reference c haracters4 in each of the views, and in which g- Figure 1 is a sectional side view of a wheel involving in v invention, Fig. '2a artialsection on the line 2-2 -ot Fig. 41, 4` ig.

Iiig-a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing another forinof construction, aiid .fFig. 4. a

detail sectional view on the lineyl-l of ln the prnctice of my invention I provide a main outer hollow hub member a with.

whichthe spokes I) are connected, an'd connected with the spokes b is t-he usual rim c provided with' the usual tire c'.

Placed concentrically within the main outer hollowvhub member a is a. central sup-v plement-al hub member (l, and the spindletorjournal e2 ofthe axle e passes t-hrough'said. central supplemental hub member 'ed as ycushioning efect produced with a neck or projection d* which is oblong in cross section and provided with a head d and opposite each face ot' the hub meinber- .I, the main outer hollow hub member a is provided on its inner face with a corresponding ncek or projection a which is also o long in cross section, 1n the form of construction shown the same as the neck or project-ion d? which is clearly shown in Fig. 4, and prof-v on the faces of the hub member d and are held in engagement therewithrand with the hub members a and d by the heads d and asl of said necks, andlthese springs operate both which engage" as tension and "c'ompression springs. By

fori'ning 'the necks 'on projections c? and d* oblong in transverse-"section and providing the springs f with U-shapedcr oblong loops at their ends,.the operattiltjiiof said springs is facilitated and thestriii-tliereon equalized. Ilalso secure. to thecentral hub member d intlie construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 Iside'plates g which nreof a. diameter sutlcient'l toinclose the hub member a, and these plat'esijiilose the s )rings f and the central h ublniei, er, d, van said plates arepreferably securd`to the hub member d by b'lts h passed therethrough. lVith this construe tion the hub member d is centered in the hub member (n bythe s rings f,`and said springs carry the-load an any joltI or jar resulting from the vehicle passing over rough or uneven roadsjor obstructions in roads is taken up bysaid springs.

The hub member a is movable toward and from therhub member d between the plates 'gand i'siilways held in proper osition by said 'plates' and the result. is siinar to that of af cushioned tire.A Y

, In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 thefplates g are rovided at their perimeters witlrinwardl., direetedflan between which and.l the hub memerpa are placed-elastic or pneumatic tubes i, or other elastic devices, and thesedevices as will be .readily understood, in the -opera-tion of the Wheel, adda to the elasticit thereof or the by the springs f.

In the constructionA shown inl Fig. 3,' I secure tothe central hub by means of boltsv lOO h plates g3 which are similar to the plates g shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but t-lie diameter of, which is less than that of the plates g and" the elastic devices z' shown in' Figs. land 2 are not employed iii the construction shown in Fig. 3, ut with this exception the con/- struction and operation of the wheel shown in Fig. 3 is the same as that shown in Figs. l and 2.

By means of my improvement I provide a wheel which possesses all the qualities of a pneumatic tire wheel, and one which is much cheaper in construction and operation, and my invention is not limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described; and chan es therein land modifications thereof may 'e made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrifieing its advantages.

I t will be understood that thetubes z' may be iniated in the usual nianner through a yalve device 2, and other annular flexible and, elastic devices may be substituted forY said tubes if desired, and in the operation of my improved wheel the hub members a and (l are 4normally held in the position `shown in the drawing, but said hub members are relatively movable toward and from each other, and any jolt or jar occasioned by the operation of the vehicle is taken up by the springs f, or by the springs f' land the elastic or pneumatic tubes i when the latter are employed and a perfect cushioning effect is thus produced. y

Having fully describcd'my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secnie by Letters Patent, is;-

l. A wheel of the class described comprising a central hub member, an outer hub member encircling the central hub member and provided with spokes to which the rim of the wheel is secured, side plates secured to the central hub member and inclosing the outer hub member, tension and compression springs placed between said hub members and secured thereto, the saidsidc plates being provided at their perinieters with iiidirected flanges, and elastic devices place( between the outer hub member and said llanges. l

2. A wheel of the class described comprising a central hub member and an outer liub member encircling said central hub m'ember, side plates secured to the central hub membei` and inclosing the outer liub member, said hub members being provided, one with inwardly directed and the' other with outwardly directed headed projections, and.

spiralsprings placed between said hub members and provided. at their opposite ends with loops which ei'igage the necks of said projections said springs operating as both tension an com iression springs, and said ber is radially movable, said outer linb member being provided with spokes to which the rim of the wheel'is secured, and said hub members being provided, one with outwardly directed and the other with inwardly directed headedvprojections which are oblong in .cross section and sJiral is rings placed between szfid li'ub members and provided at theirfopposite ends with lj-shaped loops which engage the necks of said projections, said springs operating both as tension and compression springs.

4. A wheel of the class described, comprising a central hub member and an outer hub member encircling said central hub member, said *hub members being movable toward and from each other, and spiral springs placed between said hub members and provided at. their ends with U-shaped loops adapted lto engage corresponding` projections on said hub members.

5. In adevice 'of the class described, a helical iii-al spring the ends of which are provide( with U-sliaped loops in planes at right angles to the axis of the spring.

In testimony that l e'laim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence ofthe subscribing'witnesses this 14th day of January 1909.

' FRANKLIN TOMPKNS.

Witnesses:

C. E. MULREANY, HARRY R. CANriiinu. 

